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By Bloomberg

Oil advanced as Asian markets rallied while U.S. government data showed crude inventories unexpectedly shrank in the world’s biggest oil consumer.

Futures rose as much as 2.5 percent in New York, following gains in equities and commodities including copper and corn. Crude stockpiles fell by 5.45 million barrels to 450.8 million last week, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday, compared with an increase of 1.45 million forecast in a Bloomberg survey. Production slid to the lowest in more than three months.

Oil has fluctuated below $40 a barrel this week as concern over slowing demand in China fueled volatility in global markets. Prices are down more than 35 percent from this year’s closing peak in June amid speculation a world supply glut will be prolonged. OPEC members are sustaining output while U.S. inventories remain about 90 million barrels above the five-year seasonal average.

“Once periods of high volatility start, they tend to continue,” Michael McCarthy, a chief strategist at CMC Markets in Sydney, said by phone. “We would expect to see stockpile draws at this time of year. The uninterrupted global supply scenario is still the key source of pressure for oil.”

West Texas Intermediate for October delivery climbed as much as 97 cents to $39.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $39.41 at 3:16 p.m. Sydney time. The contract declined 71 cents to $38.60 on Wednesday. The volume of all futures traded was about 86 percent above the 100-day average. Prices have decreased 26 percent this year.

U.S. Output

Brent for October settlement gained as much as $1.11, or 2.6 percent, to $44.25 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It lost 7 cents to $43.14 on Wednesday. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $4.67 to WTI.

U.S. oil production averaged 9.34 million barrels a day through Aug. 21, the slowest pace since May 15, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical arm. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the nation’s biggest oil-storage hub and the delivery point for WTI futures, expanded for a second week to 57.7 million.

U.S. imports of Canadian crude dropped from a record while shipments from Saudi Arabia also fell, the EIA report showed. The kingdom is the largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, whose 12 members pump about 40 percent of the world’s oil.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index of 22 raw materials including oil and metals slid 1.3 percent Wednesday to the lowest level since August 1999. It’s up 0.8 percent Thursday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index of equities rose for a second day.